Bowling

I survived my first Sunday with super early Ward Council, then church and afterwards Ward Youth Council. To compound the fun of it all, I was having some bad drainage in my throat so my voice kept giving out on me. I was also super achy from a workout that I had did on Friday. I was pretty convinced that I was coming down with the flu but it turns out the throat and aches were unrelated- though completely miserable when had together. After church I was beat and spent the rest of the day on "bed rest." Which quite honestly was not fun since my body just ached so bad.

Monday I finally gave in and took some Advil and Tylenol. I don't know why I am so anti medicine but I usually procrastinate taking it until I just can't cope any longer. I am glad I gave in. I felt so much better. Since the kids were off for MLK day we decided to use some money Grams and Poppy had sent us and take them bowling. We got the girls a lane with bumpers and the boys a lane without. At first the boys were really upset that they didn't have bumpers but once they started getting the hang of bowling they stopped minding. They each played 2 games and I think they had a lot of fun.

Tuesday the kids went back to school and I did some Yoga to try to fix my still aching back (I will never ever lift heavier weights than I can handle- it took until Thursday for my back to feel ok without pain killers). It sort of helped but then afterwards I had an eye appt and they made me sit and wait a lot and then my back started to hurt real bad again. The eye appt in itself was a waste. They dilated my eyes and shined bright lights in them, just to tell me the same thing. Your retina is still attached but floaters could be a precursor to it detaching so...watch out. Lame.

Wednesday Lucy had a Dr's appt in the morning. They prescribed us some cream to treat the never ending rash she has at the corner of her mouth. Hopefully it helps. She also got a flu shot and she only panicked a bit. Afterwards I went and bought her a mini bundt cake to celebrate her surviving the shot (plus she had filled up her jewel jar and been requesting the cake). We went home and she had lunch and then ate the cake because sometimes we are responsible and eat food before dessert. It was a real nice morning just Lucy and me. Once she was full of food I took her back to school.

Wednesday night we had a real fun youth activity where the girls played a get to know you game, a girls camp game and then learned how to fold paper cranes. It was fun to see all the girls interacting and showing some unity. Also fun that one of my shyer girls led the making of paper cranes and it was so nice to see her shine for once.

Friday Penny got a snow day but the other kids did not. Huron Valley Schools have a lot of back roads that can't handle any weather. Penny and I went to her favorite place- the mall- where she played and we ate yummy pretzels. Afterwards my friend Chalsea and her kid came over to hang out. It felt like the old days. It was real nice. 

Saturday Tyler had Ham radio responsibilities and the rest of us had a lazy day in. The kids had friends over and played the day away. 

Pie, Temple, Smoothie Date

Our week started off with lots of rain and then temperatures that dropped. That meant for icy roads which meant church was cancelled Sunday. I had already gotten up and taken a shower since I have to leave with all the kids at 7pm to get to Ward Council on time. When I got out of the shower, I learned it was cancelled so I promptly changed back into jammies and went back to sleep. When I actually do have to go to Ward Council I am going to be a real tired person on Sunday. Though it was nice to get extra rest, I was a little disappointed because I was teaching that day and I had a real good lesson planned. We were also supposed to have Class Presidency meetings after church so since I didn't have that, I did a lot of texting and calling to get some things worked out that we were supposed to have discussed at that meeting.

Besides all the texting (and sleeping), I helped Lucy bake cupcakes (this recipe was a little better) and we also had a nice little family church session where Steven got to pass the sacrament to us and I got to teach a modified version of my yw's lesson to the kids. It was a good sabbath in the end.

Monday I ended up with a last minute substitute job and it was a real looong day. The kids were not very good listeners and were constantly talking over me. It left me cranky and irritable. My mood was not helped when I had some frustrations with church things- just minor things that felt bigger with my bad mood. I also had to have a big lecture with my kids about working on their church goals. We ended up having to add them to their after school checklist to make sure they are getting worked on daily. I struggle so much with Steven especially- he just seems to not care about anything or have any motivation to do anything hard. It can be frustrating.

Tuesday was another sub day. I had one class in the morning and a different class in the afternoon. Despite 5 people being absent in the first class, it was still rough. Basically one kid getting everyone distracted and causing problems for me. The class in the afternoon was a lot better so it was a nice note to end on. When I got home from work Steven informed me that he needed macarons for school the next day. I was irritated that he was telling me last minute but we rushed out and got them before my meeting with my yw's presidency that night. Unfortunately, even after reminders from me, he forgot to bring them to school the next day. I decided to not bring them to school for him and instead had him pay me back for them. I felt like it was a good logical consequence but when I asked for the money, he gave it to me without seeming upset, like it was no big deal. So just more frustration with him. 

Wednesday I was able to clean the house, go for a run and run a couple errands (my kids keep tearing through pants like crazy this winter). That night for Youth Activities was a pie eating contest (the ym were in charge). I didn't love it because a lot of the kids seemed uncomfortable with eating a whole pie and I couldn't blame them- I know that would upset my stomach. Still Steven ended up participating begrudgingly and then I got to hear for the next 24 hours how sick he felt- just as I suspected he would. Oh well, some of them really enjoyed it. Steven's friend David ate the whole pie in 36 seconds flat so there's that.

Thursday I got a last minute sub job for the morning and this one went really well which was surprising because usually that teacher is kind of mess with discipline. Thursday evening we got a babysitter so both Tyler and I could go with Steven as he did Baptisms for the Dead for the first time. All the newbies from our ward were there plus a few others from our ward. It was a real nice experience. Before we did the Baptisms a temple worker spoke to us and he talked about how we can't always see the future that God has for us. How Abraham and Sarah couldn't foresee that they would have a child. When he spoke about Abraham and Sarah I felt the Holy Ghost rush over me and felt further confirmation that we will have one more child- I just have to be patient and trust.

Tyler and his friend Alan thought it would be funny to pose together in the picture above. Below is me with my Young Women that came that night (L-R: Whitney, Mia, Aleahna, Maizie, Alissa, Abby Penner)

And then below is a picture of Steven with all the youth from our ward that were there (L-R: Jake, Steven, Mia, Gavin, Aleahna, Whitney, Maizie, Alissa, Abby Penner)

Friday morning I got to wake up super early and introduce the scripture 1 Nephi 3:7 to one of our wards Seminary classes. My friend Melissa teaches it and had asked me if I would introduce it and I know that was divinely inspired since I had had such a touching experience with it recently. I was a bit nervous but it went well. I talked about not being casual with scriptures which we can tend to do with ones we know so well. I talked about how even though the Lord prepares a way it's not always easy. And I talked about how it is in those hard moments that we can feel our Lord's love the most. As I was going to get a little extra serious and spiritual my friends little boy came tromping down the stairs with their dog and kind of killed the moment but overall still good. At least they were all listening and seemed attentive. Also on Friday I got to go on a lunch date with Tyler. It's always nice when we can get have child free time.

Friday late night the snow finally came, we haven't had much this winter. I had promised Penny a smoothie date Saturday so I had to drive through several inches of snow to get her there. Not my favorite thing but it is also nice to have special time with her.

Winter Break is Over

I went to transfer the pictures from this week from my phone to the computer, only to discover I had taken zero pictures this week. I think that pretty much tells you about the kind of week I have had. No real excitement, mostly trying to get back to real life as the kids went back to school and I tried to get the house in order again.

Sunday Ben was given the opportunity to read a favorite scripture at church. One of his goals this year was to bear his testimony at church so I don't feel like him being asked to do this was merely a coincidence. I told him if he shared his feelings about the scripture that would fulfill his goal so he did that. I picked the scripture for him- 1 Nephi 3:7 (since that's the youth theme for the year) and then he added that he knew God would help him when he did the right thing. Even though I prepared all this with him, it wasn't until he shared it from the pulpit that I really felt the spirit of what he was saying and felt it as an answer to my own fast. I had been fasting about my difficulty getting pregnant and the words just sunk in. "He shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." Man this is hard road but I am continuing to try and be faithful and trust.

Monday I had to return the guinea pigs that we had been pet sitting. I made the mistake of working out my arms before returning it so carrying their large cage from the car and through the school was real painful. The kids miss the guinea pigs and Steven is even more convinced that he wants a guinea pig for his birthday. I am really not thrilled about the idea- they stink, they're messy, they cost money and what do we do with them when we travel? But Tyler thinks the responsibility will be good for Steven so...we shall see.

Tuesday I did my usual volunteering and then ran some errands in the afternoon. One of those errands was jean shopping. Jean shopping is my least favorite thing ever because finding jeans that fit is so difficult for me. I was literally down to only one pair of jeans and decided I had some time so I should just grin and bear it. Well it was a good thing because in those lovely mirrored fitting rooms I realized I had a small tear forming on my back pocket. And then as I was pulling my jeans back on in the fitting room they literally ripped. I got to finish my jean shopping in ripped jeans while constantly tugging down my shirt in hopes of covering the tear. It was super but I did end up with 2 new pairs.

Wednesday was a day of service. I drove Caroline to the grocery store because her car was broke and she needed groceries. Then I dropped off some flowers at one of my girls house because she was sick and really sad that she was missing New Beginnings. After that I visited Jessica (my friend with cancer) and she is doing really well. I also had a good conversation with her daughter about some drama that has been going on between her and another girl. The last thing that night was New Beginnings. New Beginnings didn't go super smoothly- the yw that played the piano had some struggles playing, I forgot to have a copy of the new yw's theme so I had to rush and grab one (since very few people have it memorized it yet), my leaders little girl was adorable but also a huge distraction and not all the girls really enjoyed making vision boards of their goals but... it's done and that is great.

Thursday was a real weird day because I literally had no plans and nothing that really needed to get done. So I was real slow about the usual things like laundry, working out and such. I also decided to get some flowers and visit a few of my young women but that's hard since they're all at school. I ended up going to visit one later that night- she was the other part of previously mentioned drama- and just tried to talk to her about things as well. My whole thing is I love them both, I am the neutral party and I need them both to get along so they set a better example for the younger girls. I have now asked them both to pray about it and try to find peace with one another and I am so hoping it helps. We lack such unity in our young women's and I know it's not just them but it's a start.

Friday morning I went to the temple with Caroline. Then that evening I went to a girl's night with people who aren't really so much my people. They are the "cool" people and I am not really sure why I was invited- maybe a project/goal for the year? My one friend, Melissa, was invited too so I mostly came because I knew I'd have her there. It was mostly fun but it dredged up old feelings and hurts from the days of Laci. These were really her people. She always made me feel like I was her close friend but these people at the party were really her close friends and I was often excluded from their hang outs. That night they all talked about old get together's with her and were like- you were there weren't you. Um no. They also face timed her at one point and that was awkward. It just brought back hurt feelings. There was a super funny part at the end though, where my friend Melissa decided to smash her Dr Pepper- she was going to break her diet and drink it but then she didn't so she was going symbolically smash it. Well she threw it and it totally didn't smash and somehow she fell to the ground in the process of throwing it- she was fine but she could not stop laughing. I guess moms still know how to be total goofballs?

Also a funny from this week. One of the questions of the day was- what animal do you feel like today and why? Penny's answer "A zebra because I went to church."

Cleveland, NYE, Priesthood

On Sunday my parents watched our kids so Tyler and I could go on a little getaway. We left for Cleveland, Ohio after church and despite the thick fog and rain, we made it there with no incidents. The first night was just a real lazy night in. For once I let Tyler control the remote which meant we got to watch real exciting documentaries.

It was super noisy at night due to some high winds so I didn't sleep super well so we had a late morning and totally missed the continental breakfast. Instead we went to the West Side Market for breakfast. We both got crepes- his savory and mine sweet. Then, with a little direction from a security guard, we found the stairs and got to sit at the top level and see the whole market below us while we ate. I think the crepes were way better than a continental breakfast anyways. 

On our way out I had Tyler take a picture of me by one of the many murals outside the market. This market was very similar to the one in Detroit.

After we finished up at the Market we headed to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Despite the blustery winds we took some pictures outside because the building was real unique. 

Inside I think our favorite exhibit was probably the one about Early Influences of Rock and Roll. We also liked all the various videos on music throughout the museum- I particularly liked the one with lots of clips from American Band Stand. It was fun to see how awkward some musicians were when interviewed and it was fun to see them performing songs long ago. Things were so much classier until about the 70's. I had to get a picture with a cactus of course and Tyler had to get a picture with Michael Jackson's infamous sparkly glove and a saxophone.

When we finished up at the museum we were ready for a late lunch so we hit up Melt Bar and Grilled. I had found it highly recommended on the internet and boy did it live up to the hype- it was soooo good. They specialize in fancy grilled cheese sandwiches and mac and cheese. I got a pulled pork grilled cheese sandwich and Tyler got a "Cuban War Pig." Someday it would be fun to come back and try out their mac and cheese.

After we let the food settle a bit we got some ice cream at Sweet Moses- they were an old fashioned little shop. Tyler loved his ice cream, I was less impressed with mine. I got a scoop of peppermint ice cream which sounded good in theory but really it was just swirled with extremely peppermint syrupy stuff that I didn't love.

After the ice cream we hit up a local bookshop. It wasn't in the best part of town but we survived and it's always fun to browse a good bookshop. I ended up finding some fun, lesser known Roald Dahl books and Tyler got a Tolkein book that he was super excited about. And that was pretty much our exciting day.

The next day, Tuesday, we actually made it to continental breakfast and it was not impressive. The crepes were definitely better. After checking out of our hotel we went to the house and museum from "A Christmas Story." I honestly don't think I have ever seen the whole movie but it was a classic from Tyler's childhood so he was real excited to be there. His favorite was seeing the leg lamp and the rifle and he also was real excited by the giant amount of plugs for the tree lights. He called his dad while we were there and was making his dad all sorts of jealous.

After the Christmas Story house we headed back home. It was a good getaway.

That night was New Year's Eve so we had the May family over to party with all of us. The kids watched "Kung Fu Panda" while the women folk puzzled and the men folk discussed politics. Afterwards we watched a few Netflix countdowns, "chinked" glasses of sparkling cider and honked the horns that I bought them again. None of the grown ups appreciated me buying them again but the kids just love them so much. I'm sure it's been awhile since my parents have experienced a New Year's Eve quite that noisy.

Wednesday I took my parents to see "Jumanji" as a thank you for watching the kids. Afterwards we got lunch at Arby's. It was nice to have some kid free time with them. That evening the Bishop made a house call and Steven received the Aaronic Priesthood. It was real special to have my parents there. Afterwards the Bishop shared a tradition his family has where he hands down his tie to his son when he is ordained so whenever his son wears the tie he can remember the day he was given the Priesthood. Tyler jokes that he wishes he had had a heads up because that was one of his favorite ties but I think the fact that it is one of his favorite ties makes it even more special. I like this new tradition.

Thursday we hit up the library in the morning where Poppy couldn't resist buying another book, despite the weight limit on his luggage. That afternoon we went to the Great Lakes Crossing Mall where the kids played and Grams and Poppy spoiled them with pretzels, Cinnamon Rolls and milk shakes- all the good things. 

Then on Friday morning Grams and Poppy flew back to Arizona and left us. We had to get a picture before they left:

That afternoon the kids had some friends over and then for dinner we took the kids out to Chili's to celebrate our anniversary ;) Cleveland was basically our anniversary celebration so that's why we really didn't do anything Friday.

Saturday we had a planning meeting real early in the morning. Bishop's idea and the beginning wasn't very well executed but once we split off into groups we were able to get quite a bit of planning taken care of. It was definitely better than our last planning meeting but we still have things to work on- like considering our less actives when planning and including the younger girls.

After the meeting I helped Lucy work on one of her goals- to make a batch of cupcakes by herself. She did good with me and even cracked an egg no problem but we still got work to do.